''Graellsia isabellae'', the Spanish moon moth, is in the silkmoth family

Saturniidae Saturniidae, commonly known as saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor moths, royal moths, and gi ...

. It is the only species in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Graellsia''. The species was first described by

Mariano de la Paz Graells y de la Agüera Mariano de la Paz Graells y de la Agüera (1809 – 1898) was a Spanish entomologist notable for pioneering work on the insects of corpses. Biography Graells was born in Tricio, in the Province of Logroño. He died in Madrid where he had been p ...

in 1849 and the genus was erected by

Augustus Radcliffe Grote Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species of butterflies and moths.Osborn, H. 1937. Fragments of Entomological History. Columbus, OH: Published by the autho ...

in 1896.

Range

The moth is native to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. They live high up in the ''

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

'' and the ''

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

'', where climates are generally cooler and drier. Interestingly, they have been found in ''

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

'', where they are not native but instead probably further generations of captive moths. They are relics originating from the ice age or beyond. It is thought that their habitat is a refuge location. This means that for the past few millions of years, while the climate of Europe has drastically changed, the conditions in the small areas in the Alps and Pyrenees have remained stable, and never changed, allowing the small remnant populations of this moth to survive for thousands of years in these small habitats. They are split off from the lineage of 'Moon Moths', genus '' Actias''.

Lifecycle

At the end of April and beginning of May the moth begins to hatch after overwintering in the cocoon. Normally moths from the same parental line won't copulate, so it is necessary to take account of this when the moth is bred in captivity. After copulation the female lays about 100 to 150 eggs on the favoured food plant, pines. The larva hatch after 1 to weeks and begin to eat the very hard pine needles. It takes about one and a half months for the caterpillars to reach the last

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

. In the last instar the caterpillars go down from the tree to pupate under leaves on the ground. In this stage the pupae in the cocoon overwinter until the next spring.

Host plants

The caterpillar primarily eats the needles of pine trees, more specifically ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

'' and ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

'' (genus ''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

''). It appears to have difficulty adopting to non-native pine species as a host even within the genus ''

'' .

Life cycle

Image:Graellsia isabellae 1st instar 3 sjh.jpg, 1st instar Image:Graellsia isabellae 2nd instar sjh.jpg, 2nd instar Image:Graellsia isabellae 3rd instar sjh.jpg, 3rd instar Image:Graellsia isabellae 4th instar sjh.jpg, 4th instar Image:Graellsia isabellae 5th instar 2 sjh.jpg, 5th instar File:Graellsia_isabellae_MHNT_male_dos.jpg, File:Graellsia isabellae MHNT male ventre.jpg, File:Graellsia isabellae MHNT Femelle dos.jpg, File:Graellsia isabellae MHNT Femelle ventre.jpg,

Hybrid

''Graellsia isabellae'' × ''Actias selene'' is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

of the Spanish moon moth and the Indian moon moth (''

Actias selene ''Actias selene'', the Indian moon moth or Indian luna moth, is a species of saturniid moth from Asia. It was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1807. This species is popular among amateur entomologists and is often reared from eggs or coco ...

'').

References

* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996.
''Graellsia isabelae''
2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 31 July 2007.

External links

''Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa''. *
"06791 ''Actias isabellae'' (Graells, 1849) - Isabellaspinner"
''Lepiforum e.V.'' {{Authority control Saturniinae Moths described in 1849 Moths of Europe